Anthony Alexander is a rising star who appeared on The Voice during its thirteenth season. He gave a powerful performance singing “Redbone” during his blind audition before joining Team Adam Levine. In a recent interview with ARTSNLA, I spoke with Anthony Alexander about his journey on The Voice. He shared his thoughts on working with Adam Levine as well as releasing new music. Here’s the scoop:

ARTSNLA: We watched your audition for The Voice and it has 4 million YouTube views now. How does that feel?

A.A.: Honestly, that feels super awesome to know that I have a video with me on it that has 4 million views on it. I feel super grateful because it shows how much support I get from everyone. It’s awesome to really know, like, that I have a lot of people supporting me and I’m just super thankful.

ARTSNLA: You worked with Adam Levine on The Voice. What was that like?

A.A.: It was super awesome working with Adam Levine on The Voice. He’s just a super cool guy. He’s a very free-spirited dude and did whatever he wanted. I’m kind of the same way too… He is a very cool guy. He’s very much about pulling you out of your comfort zone. That’s just something that I really liked about working with him is that he’s helped me grow in a lot of different ways, not just musically but personality wise too.

Before I actually got kicked out of the show, he said that I was a brother to him. It’s funny that he said that because the whole time I was thinking he was like a brother to me. He’s like the older brother I never had.

ARTSNLA: Did you always know you had a passion for music?

A.A.: Yeah, I’ve known that ever since I was 2. I’ve always been singing a lot and then when I was five, like, I always ran around with a microphone saying that I was going to be famous… I was going to be a rock star. It’s just awesome to know that it became a reality after saying that from when I was five. I knew I had a passion for music.

ARTSNLA: Who is your biggest musical influence?

A.A.: I have a lot of musical influences. When I was younger, Michael Jackson was a very big influence. As I got older, more influences came into play: James Bay, Adam Levine, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, and a little bit of Ed Sheeran. It goes on…

ARTSNLA: Do you have family members who are also in the music industry?

A.A.: Yeah, my dad. Basically, everybody in my family has a musical background. Mostly right now, it’s me and my dad… My sisters played musical instruments in the school band. My little sister, my youngest sister, is into singing right now… And then my dad has also been playing a lot of music. He’s been playing a lot of instruments. He’s been helping me out since the beginning… He’s actually played for me in the band I play with… I’m super thankful for the support that he gives me.

ARTSNLA: What’s next? Will you be releasing an album soon?

A.A.: I do plan to release an album… Right now we’re just working on new songs. We’re using this time to build our own stuff and create our own music. We are planning on getting out some of my original music and I’m really excited for everybody to see that. It will show who I am as an artist. I’m hoping to make this album as big and amazing as I can. It will be out around June 2018. Follow @anthonyofficial on Twitter for updates.

ARTSNLA: What message would you like to send to your fans?

A.A.: You can do anything you want as long as you put the hard work and the dedication into it, and as long as you have a really good team behind you, willing to support you. That’s just something that I really do believe in, regardless of what it [the goal] is, whether it’s music or opening businesses or companies. That’s just something I want to give out to my supporters and people who are into my music… just showing them that they can follow their dreams.

Anthony Alexander will be performing live shows this month in Southern California. On February 10, Alexander will be performing at the Fifth Rooftop Lounge in Anaheim. On February 23, he will perform at the State Social House in West Hollywood.Click here to view his tour dates.